Senior Response Manager - Home Office Cyber Security Operations Centre

Job summary

Home Office Digital designs, builds and develops services for the rest of the department and for government. Every year our systems support up to 3 million visa applications, checks on 100 million border crossings, up to 8 million passport applications and deliver 140 million police checks on people, vehicles and property.

As a Senior Response Manager within the Home Office Cyber Security Operations Centre (CSOC) you will be expected to plan, implement and operate capabilities to detect, contain and remediate incidents, identify opportunities to improve detection, response and automation capabilities. You will also support organisational readiness through co-ordinating preparedness exercises and red team activity. The Response function also advises product and service owners on potential mitigations and supports the continuous improvement of security operations through monitoring, detection and standardisation of security practices.

You’ll be joining an expert team of cyber professionals, committed to reducing the exposure to cyber-attack of new and existing digital systems. You’ll be aided in your role by a diverse and supportive organisational culture, and a commitment to further your continuous development.

Where business needs allow, some roles may be suitable for a combination of office and home-based working. Where this is the case, employees will be expected to spend a minimum of 60% of their working time in the office. Applicants can raise any queries to the email address at the bottom of the advert.

Watch this short video to hear from members of Home Office Digital talking about the projects they work on and their experience of working here: Working for Home Office Digital.

Job description

We are recruiting two Senior Response Managers to join the CSOC working in the following roles:

Senior Technical Detection Analyst

This role focuses on improving SIEM detection and monitoring capabilities. You will develop, test, maintain and improve SIEM monitoring and detection content, using threat intelligence and operational insights to improve detection coverage, accuracy and the identification of cyber threats.

You will apply and refine threat-informed detection engineering practices, standards and quality controls, strengthening the organisation’s ability to identify and respond to cyber threats.

Senior SOAR & Detection-as-Code (DaC) Analyst

This role focuses on improving cyber detection, response and automation capabilities through security automation, response playbooks and Detection-as-Code practices. You will design, develop, test, maintain and improve security automation workflows, response playbooks and integrations using SOAR platforms or comparable automation technologies, while applying structured and repeatable DaC methodologies

You will work with SOC teams and other business areas to improve incident handling, implement complex solutions for emerging threats, contribute to relevant standards and process improvements, and reduce operational effort and future risk.

When submitting your application, please clearly indicate which role(s) you wish to be considered for.

As a Senior Response Manager in either of these roles your main responsibilities will be to;

• Carry out security monitoring, detection and response activities in line with agreed standards, providing advice on mitigation, escalation and risk reduction.
• Identify, analyse and investigate indicators of malicious activity across networks, systems and applications, supporting effective threat detection and incident response.
• Triage security events and alerts, supporting investigations and recommending improvements to monitoring controls, detection coverage and overall security posture.
• Support incident response activities, including red teaming and threat hunting exercises, communicating investigation outcomes and contributing to lessons learned and post-incident reviews.
• Develop, review and continuously improve monitoring use cases, detection content and alert effectiveness across a range of security technologies.
• Define and enhance processes, tooling and security controls to identify emerging threats, strengthen detection capabilities and implement effective mitigation strategies.
• Drive service and process improvements by applying industry best practice, sound judgement and problem-solving skills to support efficient security operations and investigations.

Working Pattern

This role is available on a full-time basis with the option of compressed hours working. This role is also suitable for part-time working hours, with a minimum requirement to work 4 days/ 30 hours per week due to business requirements.

Person specification

Essential Skills

You will have a demonstrable passion for Cyber Security, Detection and Responsewith the following skills, knowledge or experience;

As a SeniorTechnical Detection Analyst

• Conducting investigations and working in a ‘Security Operations Centre’ environment, including the identification and analysis of potentially malicious activity.
• Developing, maintaining or improving SIEM monitoring and detection content, using threat intelligence and operational insights to improve detection coverage, accuracy and the identification of cyber threats.

As a Senior SOAR & DaC Analyst

• Conducting investigations and working in a ‘Security Operations Centre’ environment, supporting security operations and incident response activities.
• Designing, developing, testing maintaining and improving security automation workflows, response playbooks and integrations using SOAR platforms or comparable automation technologies, while applying DaC methodologies.

Additionally, for both roles, experience of;

• Communicating in a verbal and written manner, and a good understanding of the use of different channels and formats for different audiences
• Building strong partnerships with peers across an organisation and navigating the complex landscape of technologies, 3rd party suppliers, and other teams
• Managing a team in a technical environment

SFIA capability framework

Skills for the Information Age (SFIA) version 8 is the technical framework that sets the standard capability and development of all levels in the Home